Sermon and Weekly Bulletin ~ September 8, 2019

“May the words of my mouth, and the meditations of our hearts, be acceptable in your sight, our rock and redeemer. Amen”

Are you the pot, or the clay?

Dangers of context-less literalism

No, he’s not saying all parents are bad, or all family members should hate each other

Making a very important point, as he has for our readings the last several weeks

Each time, choosing a different method – some of which you may find jarring

Each scripture may not be speaking exactly to you each week, but it is speaking to somebody

Focus of reading is Discontent and judgement with the world as it is

which does tie into family, peers, even one’s own life.

Potter’s wheel, pottery, and the clay

Speaking not at the individual level, but national

At any time I may announce that I will dig up, pull down, and destroy a nation or kingdom; 8 but if that nation I warned turns from its evil, then I’ll relent and not carry out the harm I intended for it. 9 At the same time, I may announce that I will build and plant a nation or kingdom; 10 but if that nation displeases and disobeys me, then I’ll relent and not carry out the good I intended for it.

Liberating, or threatening?

Where do we see our selves, our churches, communities, nation?

Pottery, or the clay?

Forms, or the underlying material?

Are we trying to keep the clay wet, fresh, moldable, or are we trying to harden our forms, bake things into place?

Time of changing forms – new time, or same old, same old

Looking back at gospel, there’s always been times when each generation has tensions with the ones before it or after it

Ancient roman writings about kids these days.

Dissatisfaction with clay, or forms?

Current faith commentaries on this

White American Christianity

Mainline – good clay, overly attached to forms

Evangelical – more willing to be molded into new forms, but the clay itself, the theology, is not as malleable. Chunks for hardness in it.

Both are too focused on inner structure than outward forms

Help with the clay, let go of the forms

UCC preamble to the Constitution

It claims as its own the faith of the historic Church expressed in the ancient creeds and reclaimed in the basic insights of the Protestant Reformers. It affirms the responsibility of the Church in each generation to make this faith its own in reality of worship, in honesty of thought and expression, and in purity of heart before God.

Johnny Cash, What is truth?

Increased sense of urgency

Climate crisis

10 years to make drastic changes to keep majority of world habitable as they are. Avert change –

God as potter

I am a potter preparing a disaster for you; I’m working out a plan against you. So each one of you, turn from your evil ways; reform your ways and your actions.

Artic ice melting, when projections were not until 2070

Amazon and other rainforests, being set on fire

To fund short term financial gain

At a tipping point they might not be recoverable

Hate your parents

Asked the question earlier, where will the church be in 10 years,

First response of many, I hope I’m still alive

Concerns about health

Many of Gen Y and Z say the same thing

Concerns about climate devastation and failure of current political systems

Greta Thunberg,

“You say you love your children above all else, and yet you are stealing their future in front of their very eyes.”

Flawed pieces – bad theology

God does give us more than we can handle. Individually.

That’s why we need God and each other

8 Brothers and sisters, we don’t want you to be unaware of the troubles that we went through in Asia. We were weighed down with a load of suffering that was so far beyond our strength that we were afraid we might not survive. 9 It certainly seemed to us as if we had gotten the death penalty. This was so that we would have confidence in God, who raises the dead, instead of ourselves. 2 Corinthians 1:8-9 Common English Bible (CEB)

This is what Jesus is calling us to hate

Platitudes

Denial of severity

Apathy

Greed

Self interest

Doomsday Pollyanna – we’ve overcome before, and recently

Nuclear war threat

Ozone layer

Doomsday Pollyanna – the Place for Grandparents

Reclaiming our stewardship of the earth – the caretakers of God’s garden – Already named by the church as a goal

Pre EPA

Cuyahoga river fire – 1969

You can remember why we need this protection, saw what it was like before.

In the same way, none of you who are unwilling to give up all of your possessions can be my disciple.

Be open to bigger visions

Church has named environmental action as a place it feels called to grow

See it around you, raising water levels here in Charlevoix – echoed around the world. (water has to drain somewhere)

Listen to younger voices and informed voices

Share your journey

Not looking for a few, perfectly living people, but many people living imperfectly, but better

Crop walk – not just a fundraiser, but an embodied action.

Chance to broaden your horizon

Average distance to get water

Rethinking inheritance – focus on the clay, not the pottery

Not legal or financial – property or cash

The world

Society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.

Readings

Jeremiah 18:1-11 Can be found on page ___________ of your pew Bible.

This reading from Jeremiah challenges a core belief of God’s people, the election tradition. That is the belief that since God has chosen Judah, that God will always shield the nation from harm. It is also a reminder of the importance of mutually upholding our covenant with God

18 Jeremiah received the Lord’s word: 2 Go down to the potter’s house, and I’ll give you instructions about what to do there. 3 So I went down to the potter’s house; he was working on the potter’s wheel. 4 But the piece he was making was flawed while still in his hands, so the potter started on another, as seemed best to him. 5 Then the Lord’s word came to me: 6 House of Israel, can’t I deal with you like this potter, declares the Lord? Like clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in mine, house of Israel! 7 At any time I may announce that I will dig up, pull down, and destroy a nation or kingdom; 8 but if that nation I warned turns from its evil, then I’ll relent and not carry out the harm I intended for it. 9 At the same time, I may announce that I will build and plant a nation or kingdom; 10 but if that nation displeases and disobeys me, then I’ll relent and not carry out the good I intended for it. 11 Now say to the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem: This is what the Lord says: I am a potter preparing a disaster for you; I’m working out a plan against you. So each one of you, turn from your evil ways; reform your ways and your actions.

Luke 14:25-33 Can be found on page ___________ of your pew Bible.

Today’s reading from Luke continues in the same chapter as last week’s reading, where Jesus was invited to a feast at a Pharisee’s home, and reminded them to not seek their own status, but the greater reward.

25 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus. Turning to them, he said, 26 “Whoever comes to me and doesn’t hate father and mother, spouse and children, and brothers and sisters—yes, even one’s own life—cannot be my disciple. 27 Whoever doesn’t carry their own cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

28 “If one of you wanted to build a tower, wouldn’t you first sit down and calculate the cost, to determine whether you have enough money to complete it? 29 Otherwise, when you have laid the foundation but couldn’t finish the tower, all who see it will begin to belittle you. 30 They will say, ‘Here’s the person who began construction and couldn’t complete it!’ 31 Or what king would go to war against another king without first sitting down to consider whether his ten thousand soldiers could go up against the twenty thousand coming against him? 32 And if he didn’t think he could win, he would send a representative to discuss terms of peace while his enemy was still a long way off. 33 In the same way, none of you who are unwilling to give up all of your possessions can be my disciple.